How are you…no really? I can finally say I am ‘May Tired’ in May. This year has provided challenges, circumstances beyond our control, and more changes than I thought possible, and that was only September. But now it is finally May. Many of us are back in school, at least part-time. We are rethinking our … Continue reading Wrestling with Rest While Wrapping Up the School Year.
You can take the Principal out of the Happiest Place in Southeastern Minnesota, but you can’t take the play out of the Principal. Katy Smith has drilled into me the importance of play, in all grades. So how does one incorporate play based professional development, in a middle school, during COVID? Enter Jessica White Stanley, … Continue reading Relevant Professional Development During COVID. (hint it has to do with play)
As school leaders navigate challenging times, roadside assistance can be invaluable. Article Featured in MiddleWeb 3.1.2021 You have a plan, you’ve done your research, you’ve created leadership teams to pilot the project. Students have buy-in, families are excited, but you forgot to loop in the leaders around and above you. And shortly you find out … Continue reading Roadside Assistance from the District Office
Link to the article and resources. Principal Leadership Issue • December 2020 We all have them, and we usually dread them—difficult conversations. These can happen daily at work or with family and friends. Preparing for these conversations can cause worry, anxiety, and sleepless nights. But there is an art to engaging in difficult conversations with grace, vulnerability, … Continue reading LEADING WITH GRACE THROUGH DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS. NASSP.
What a calendar year it has been. Continue reading Measure the Gain Not The Gap: Finding Bright Spots in Dark Days.
You will have to quarantine. For many educators, during the 2020-21 school year, these are the words we have lost sleep over, worried about hearing, and struggled to plan for when it does happen. While we are preparing lessons for our students who are at home learning, supporting our colleague’s classes while they are at … Continue reading Quarantine Routines: An Educator’s Guide to Surviving a Quarantine.
Happy New Year! I hope this reaches each of you enjoying the first few moments of 2021. For the past few years have challenged myself to make lists to start the new year: 20’20’ Questions That Will Enhance Your Life and Leadership. #UnConLeader 20’19’ Ways to Elevate Your Leadership This Year 20’18’ Ways to Start … Continue reading ’21’ Ways to Become More Resilient in 2021
Leveling Up: Simply put, it means to improve your current station in a way that feels like a powerful shift. And, it starts with a change in thought, a shift in mindset, followed by brave action. Cindy Yantis Blog: Here is What it Means to Level Up. TL:DR This is not a post for blaming or shaming … Continue reading Leveling Up: Ways to Increase Student Engagement.
We are lifting up our families who are struggling during this time, supporting our students of color in knowing how truly loved and cared for they are, and standing with our fellow educators navigating COVID along with the fear of what might come next. ‘May tired’ in October could be an understatement. Continue reading With Grace, Gratitude, and Growth….a Season to be Truly Thankful For. A CEAI Blog Post.
As we were preparing for fall conferences I reflected on one of our most memorable parent-teacher conferences as a family. It was the fall of Isaiah’s 1st-grade year, this was back in the day where schools used color clip charts. Green was good, Yellow was a warning, Red was bad, and Black was really, really … Continue reading Finding The Orange
Principal in Balance: Learning to Lead in Work and Life 